Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-06-17
The Staunton indicator.
FRIDAY MORNING. JUNE II, 1887.
LOCAL.

LOCAL.
A TALK TO THE ARTILLERY.
ITS FIRST CAPTAIN TALKS ABOUT ITS Or
GANIzATION-GEN. IMBODEN GIVES
SOME INTERESTING HIsToRY-HoW IT
WAS CALLED INTO SERVICE.
&C., &C., sc.
There has been no more interesting
"war talk' given before our people than
| that given by Gen. John D. Imboden the
night before Decoration Day to the mem
bers of the Stanton Artillery. But it was
a local event, as it were, and was swallow.
ed up, so to speak in the national event
the appearance of Lee and Averill on the
same platform-the next day. Those who
heard it-especially those old enough to
recollec. the men and events spoken Of
and there were many present-were deep
ly interested by it. 1t was given in the
form Of lecture at the Opera House for
the benefit of the Stanton Artillery, and
in front of the speaker, in artillery uni
form, sat new generation whose dapper
neatness and generally nice look must have
reminded the speaker of the men, their
predecessors, when they first started to the
war under his command. On the platform
sat Gen. Averill, in the midst of whose
command. at the first Manassas, fell the
first hostile shot fired by the old veterans
whose successors sat in the parquette in
front of him. The lecturer himself, Gen.
Imboden, was not much changed, except
grown more 81 rtly. He is still a tall,
strong looking, handsome man, with little
of the grey in his hair to remind one of
how long it has been since he wore the
gray. He had prepared no lecture, but in
place of it gave pleasant talk full of com
| pany and personal "reminiscences; the only
| change from that being the reading of some
! of the proofs of an article he had prepared
| for the Century War History, which had
reached him by mail the night before, and
which made frequent and complimentary
mention of the Staunton Artillery. Gen
Imboden was appropriately introduced by
| Capt. James Bumgarduer, who was in the
infantry and who saw the men Of the
| Staunton Artillery on the 18th of May
1864, when they followed up the infantry
charge, and as it captured the guns in front
| leaped to their places turned them against
| the enemy and commenced working them
On the platform sat Capt. j. T. Long, the
present commander of the Artillery and
one the privates who first enlisted in it.
THE ORGANIZATION.
night almost stranger, where he was
| once well known. His memory of this
community, where he was raised. ran
back for fifty years, but in the last twenty
six years he had only spent one NIGH
here, and that was when in February, 1862
he came home from the army to address
the people of Augusta and urge them tt
send food and clothing to their sons in tn,
field. He had been elected commander
of the company at its organization. ON
day in March, 1859, while the militar,
fever following John Brown 3 raid at Har
per's Ferry was at it's height, a meeting
was held in the court yard here to form
an artillery company. While sitting il
the Clerks Office, Tom Hartman came il
and told him he had been elected Captain
He accepted, and shortly after, went t.
Richmond to Gov. Wise to apply for guns
for the battery. Some time before that
he had difference in political natter
with Wise, out of which grew GOODNESS
resulting in an ending of their acquain
lance. But when he went with his ap
plica5ion the Governor received him cor
daily. approved his requisition for gum
and made this remark: "Capt. Imbodel
[ give you these guns on one condition
that when I call for you at any hour, II,
matter whether in the day or night, you
and yoSi men will promptly respond to tn
call u le Governor Of Virginia. TIT
pledge was promptly given and kept.
THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF WAR
| SOME POLITICAL HISTORY.
In April, 1861. when Gov. Letcher, Wit
succeeded Wise, was in office. 1 was IL
Richmond. The secession convention wa
in session at the time. Walking alone
Bank street about O'Clock in the after
noon, / met ex-Gov. Wise. He asked i
there were any more of tie sboys" in tn,
city and said he would like to see them a
his room at the Exchange Hotel. Tha
night O. r. Funston, John S. Barbour an(
myself met at his room and he showed vi
telegram from his law, DR.. Gar
nett in W ashington. saying that the gov
eminent had sent about 1000 men to tax
possession of the works at Harper's Ferry
Wise, O. r. Funston, John A. Hartman
Cary of Richmond, were all in the room
After midnight, with Barbour, Harmal
and myself went up to Gov. Lstcher's anG
asked him If he would sustain US if WI
called out Our men. He said his hand
were tied by the non-action OF the con
Yention. s'Thenn we asked 'will you tel
egraph.u us if we leave tonight. what tn
convention does?'' He said he would
That night I got the ammunition in Rich
mond and telegraphed to Stanton callinl
the Artillery out, with three days ra5ions
to go to PORTSMOUTH" l said Ports
mouth because the telegraph line NIGH
be leaky and we didn't want it know
in Washington that we were going t.
Harper's Ferry. Hartman, Funston, Bar
bour and myself all left Richmond tn
next day. On the way to Staunton I go
the telegram from Governor Letcher say
ing the State had seceeded. When 1 got
to Staunton there were between three and